Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka (9) goes to the basket past Dallas' Chris Kaman (35) during an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

With OKC misfiring at a 41.9 percent clip from the field, Ibaka used his superior size and athleticism against the Mavs to score 19 points, haul in 17 rebounds and block five shots.

Eight of Ibaka's rebounds came at the offensive end, including two straight boards in the final minute of the fourth quarter that allowed the Thunder to drain 40 seconds off the game clock while clinging to a 96-95 lead.

“It was just him playing aggressive,” teammate Thabo Sefolosha said. “They went small for a big part of the game and that allowed him to really put the pressure on them with offensive rebounds.”

Offensively, Ibaka was the only Thunder player to shoot better than 50 percent from the field, going 7 for 10.

At both ends of the floor, Ibaka turned up huge.

“I thought Serge was phenomenal, what he did offensively, defensively,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “He was protective. He was rebounding, getting the offensive rebounds that we need.”